The Vancouver Canucks named forward Bo Horvat the 14th captain in franchise history prior to the team's home opener against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
The team played without a captain in 2018-19 after Henrik Sedin — who had served as captain since 2010 — retired alongside his brother Daniel.
After the Canucks played their first two games of the new season on the road, they returned home for a ceremony in which Sedin and Orland Kurtenbach, the franchise's first captain, presented Horvat with his new jersey at center ice.
Kurtenbach. Sedin. Horvat. What an amazing moment. pic.twitter.com/JPHnoLs91N
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 10, 2019
Rogers Arena stadium announcer Al Murdoch read a message of hope to the home crowd and to the Canucks' new captain as Horvat swapped the 'A' he previously wore as an alternate captain for a "C" on his chest.
"Bo, in our historic 50th season a new era of Canucks hockey begins, and with a new era comes change," Murdoch said. "Bo, that change begins with your jersey."
Horvat, 24, was the ninth-overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft. He scored 222 points in 377 total games in his first five seasons with the Canucks, including a breakout performance last season that saw the London, Ont. native reach new career highs in goals (27), assists (34) and average time on ice (20:50 minutes per game).
The Canucks are 0-2-0 so far in 2019-20.